Here are two reasons of many….but the ones I feel stronly about...
1. Because homeschooling strengthens and nurtures our family.
As it is perfectly put in The Homeschooling Option…
“In a fast –paced culture that often pulls family members in different directions, homeschooler have more time to live as a family rather than as roommates, chauffeurs, and passengers. Strong family relationships require, above all else, time – and time is the one thing over which families today feel they have little control.”…… “Not just our schools and our children, but our entire culture is caffeinated, running at full speed so as not to miss anything or fall behind. It’s as though we are on a merry-go-round, going faster and faster, and we are hanging on for dear life as life blurs around us.” …. “Families on this merry-go-round often feel trapped, with no way to get off without sacrificing income, being unfair to one or more children by not offering each of them the same opportunities as their siblings, or feeling guilty for not helping their children live up to their potential. There is little time to catch one’s breath, much less see things clearly enough to know if anything should be changed. Something is wrong with the pace of our daily lives when we need magazine articles and news reports to show us how to make time to be with our own children, how to eat together, how to schedule family time.”… “Homeschooling offers a way off the merry-go-round. We simply step off. In time the world stops spinning and we can see life, education, and our children more clearly. …Homeschooling is about families being happier and less stressed, about getting to know each other and learning to live together….children can still be well educated and successful; they’ll just have more fun and be healthier doing so.”
I couldn’t have said that any better myself.
2.Because all of our children’s needs are worthy of special attention. My child does not become a number, a paycheck to a teacher or administrator. Yes, there are many caring teachers out there that love their job and their students (some are very close family members of ours), but….do they love and care for my child, their wellbeing and education as much as I do? No, how could they, that is not even possible. Only I and my husband can care that much for our children and their education, and futures. Do I want my child to struggle along just getting by academically, hiding it from me out of shame. Struggling until a “C” or “D” comes home on a report card, still having not been notified by his teacher that there is a problem, because his problem is just one of 25 or 30 others. This is me speaking in experience, not with my children but of myself in junior and senior high…both in the private and public school systems. Sliding by through one semester to another, promising to do better next time, when what was need was some special attention on a subject, some individual help, and not being allowed to slip through the cracks of a organized, socialized education system.
We do not feel strongly that all families should homeschool, just ours. Because it is our decision to make, this is what we feel is best for our family at this time. Our children and our family are the only ones that we are free to make that decision for, as we are the only one free to make the decision for our family.
Yes, many wonderful, caring, intelligent and educated persons have come out of both public and private school systems. But, then again many wonderful, caring, intelligent and educated people are the result of homeschooling….just look at me.
